As the moment you’ve been planning for approaches, it’s natural to feel anxiety and trepidation, but having a comprehensive plan in place will keep you organized and motivated throughout the business transition. Here are some of the steps you should take during the transition to keep your company on track!

Check in With Your Attorney

While you should talk to your attorney throughout the process, this is where their expertise is vital to ensure a smooth handoff. Have them draft a contract that outlines your responsibilities throughout the transition, and when tasks should be passed off to the new owners.

Meet with New Employees to Communicate Your Brand

To ensure that everyone is onboarded efficiently and will maintain the standards of your brand, schedule a meeting or two to educate your team about the branding and company values. Setting these expectations early will emphasize the tone of the company and prevent any future inconsistencies, so don’t skip out on this vital step!

Communicate Clearly with Existing Clients

While you may have already discussed the transition with your existing clients, reach out to them again to confirm that the transition is underway and outline the timeline. Give them plenty of time to discuss potential changes and express any concerns they may have. I recommend that you send official notifications via snail mail and email. You may want to also schedule a conference call with your top clients to give personalized attention, introduce them to the new team to further support a successful transition.

Establish a Consulting Timeline

If you plan on staying on to assist after the transition, work with the new owners to outline your responsibilities and time commitment. Having these parameters in place will help you manage expectations while still guiding your team towards success. In your agreement, outline the number of hours you’d prefer to work each week, the days you will typically be available for consultation, and whether you want a trusted team member to monitor your emails to bring urgent items to everyone’s attention. Reviewing your personal preferences ensures everyone is on the same page moving forward!

As you complete the succession planning transition for your company, it is essential to outline your next steps and set expectations for the future. Creating this roadmap and including the new owners in on your game plan ensures a smooth transition for all parties involved, including your valued clients!

In order to provide your team with the skills they need to steer your company through a transition, you should begin training them as soon as possible. The need for everyone to be on the same page means that you should take your training slowly and ramp up responsibilities over time, keeping in mind the delicate and nuanced situations that your employees may someday face. Here are 4 training strategies that you can use to guide your team towards a successful transition!

Maintain a Focus on Your Core Values

It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture throughout the minutia of a business transition but driving home the focus on your core values will help your team remember what matters most. Ultimately, despite the changes in your management structure, your company’s goal should remain the same throughout the process. Remembering your core values, your brand promise and revisiting them at team meetings will help you remain client-centric, and therefore avoid the churn of clients that can sometimes occur during business handoffs. Keep your team conscientious of their brand and ensure that they communicate it effectively during both face-to-face and digital communication with your clients.

Slowly Ramp Up Responsibilities

If you have an employee or two in mind for future leadership roles, this is the perfect time to slowly delegate essential tasks. Communicate that you are there to support them and keep an eye on the overall project, but allow your employees the chance to complete these tasks on their own. This will help build both their skillset and your confidence in their abilities to guide the company through the transition.

Don’t Skimp Out on Meetings

One of the most frustrating challenges of a business transition is the lack of communication. Most employees hate being left in the dark, and the lack of news can spark harmful rumors. Include key employees in your business development meetings and hold company-wide updates to curb the spread of misinformation. Creating a united and involved workspace can help reduce employee turnover during potentially stressful periods of time, so don’t try to create sweeping changes in the background without consulting with your team. This is an essential time to keep an open-door policy and be transparent about upcoming changes, so give your team the time and space to address their concerns and ask for clarification.

Clearly Expound Upon New Roles

Another avenue of keeping employee satisfaction high during a business transition is to properly outline their opportunities for growth and development in their new roles. By giving them opportunities to add leadership development and new skillsets to their resumes, you can help build their investment in the new company. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt to provide additional incentives like company events and bonuses to keep your team happy and productive!

Giving your team essential benefits and support will guide your company through the transition and keep your existing clients happy! If you need help designing a personalized succession plan, reach out to me to schedule a consultation. I can evaluate the current branding of your company and the planned changes to help craft a new marketing plan for the transition!

As you continue your succession planning, one inevitable question will arise: What about my branding? Should the new company keep our existing logo,
tagline, and colors, or is it time for a fresh start? What is the best way to conduct these changes? There are no universal answers to these questions, but the nature of your business and your preexisting strategy can help inform your decision and help your company move forward throughout the acquisition process.

How Effective Is Your Existing Brand?

This is an excellent place to start your exploration, and you need to be completely honest and objective as you look at your company’s success. Take a look at the current business landscape and evaluate whether your branding sets you apart from the competition. Are you developing brand recognition and building a following in your community? Is your name unique enough that people will pick it out from the crowd? How does your logo, tagline, and company colors compare to others in the industry? If your existing brand is truly an asset to your team, it may be best to keep it throughout the transition. If you find ways to improve, you can seamlessly update your brand throughout the succession planning process.

Meet with An Expert

Given how essential branding is to your overall success, this is the perfect time to bring in experts on branding and design. Getting sound advice can prevent major stumbling blocks and ensure that you’re putting the best foot forward with your overhauled look, so connect with industry leaders now and set yourself up to win.

Need a Fresh Start?

A business transition is the perfect time to reframe yourselves in the business landscape, so embrace the refresh if it’s time to move forward. Sit down with your team, including any new partners or investors, and determine what aspects of your branding need a makeover. The key things to discuss in your meeting are your target market, your area of expertise, how to communicate your brand and how you want your brand to be perceived. By taking a bird’s eye view of your branding, you can craft a new look that establishes trust and authority.

The Sooner, The Better

If you decide to update your look, start immediately. Your first step should be to email your current clients and inform them of the coming changes to your name and look. Be sure to drive home your commitment to their needs. Ask your ideal clients for their honest opinion about your new brand. Get input to ensure you’re putting the best foot forward across the board. After sending the initial email, you can slowly start making changes to your website, but be sure to include language such as “formerly known as” to smooth the transition. You may also want to place your new logo side-by-side with the old one for a month or two, in case older users are confused when navigating to your site.

Your brand is invaluable to the success of your business, and it should be an essential part of your succession planning. Take the time to meet with your team and decide whether it’s time for a refresh, integrating this change throughout your transition. As always, if you have questions about your branded system, please reach out to me!

According to a recent survey by FMG Suite, a startling 73% of advisors do not have a written succession plan, but 60% of those same advisors are planning to
retire within five years. While building a comprehensive plan can be a time-consuming process, it ensures that your life’s work will continue after you’ve ridden off into the sunset to enjoy the next phase of your life. In order to provide your team with the best chance of success, you should start considering your succession plan as soon as possible and make adjustments along the way to support the sustainability of your firm.

When Should you Start Considering Your Succession Planning?

Ideally, you should begin evaluating possible transitions as soon as your business is viable. Once you feel that you have mastered the tools of the trade and feel confident in your advisory skillset, it is time to consider possible next steps for business development. This can include onboarding a team to expand your reach, or simply acquiring a book of business to expand your current client list and AUM. Regardless of which path you take, you should start considering your options, grooming a second in command, and deliberating possible next steps for your firm.

Under What Conditions Would a Transition Take Place?

Having a firm plan of the conditions you’d need to transition will help you immediately consider or reject any incoming terms, as well as providing a logical framework for an otherwise sentimental decision. Write down the answers to these questions and use it as a personal reference as you start considering your options:

In an ideal world, how long would you like to keep working at your firm?

If something minor goes wrong with your health or personal life, how might it shorten this timeframe?

If something major goes wrong with your health or personal life, how might it shorten this timeframe?

Who would handle your current accounts if you had to take short-term leave?

Who would handle your current accounts if you had to take long-term or permanent leave?

What is the minimum amount you would be willing to sell your stake in the firm for?

What would you ideally like to sell your stake in the firm for?

Are there any personal or financial roadblocks preventing you from retiring or selling your business?

Once you have written out the answers to these questions, you’ll have a better understanding of your position that will help you make the right decisions with your upcoming strategies.

Is Your Team Ready to Make Changes?

As you begin your succession planning strategy, it’s essential to take an honest look at your team. Consider their personalities and capabilities both as a close colleague, and from a client perspective. Is your team capable of running your firm with minimal input from you? Is there a natural leader who would be able to take the helm if you decide to leave? How would the other team members react to having this person manage the business? If you see a natural choice for a successor, it might be right timing for a conversation with them to determine if they are interested in being a part of your succession plan. If you are aligned that the fit is a good one, you can also start allocating more responsibilities and grooming them for the promotion. If there isn’t an obvious choice, it may be time to bring in a fresh perspective with new hire(s.)

Succession planning is an essential part of growing your business, and it’s important to ask these questions as early as possible. Once you have evaluated your position from both a logical and emotional standpoint, you will know how to prepare for your next steps

While splitting up from a business partner can be one of the most stressful transitions in running a company, there are ways to gracefully pivot in order to minimize chaos and nurture your existing clients. This roadmap can help you plan out your exit strategy to keep things running smoothly in the event of a partnership break-up.

Split Up the Assets

Much like any breakup, you should begin the process of determining which business partner gets to keep each asset. While this obviously includes physical objects like building space and office furniture, you should take time to divide up intellectual property as well. Don’t forget to allocate things like the company slogan, website, and mission statement when redistributing your company assets.

Consider Custody of the Clients

While most businesses split clients by their monetary value in this process, it’s essential to evaluate their emotional connection as well. Keeping involved clients with their primary point of contact will minimize stress for everyone, and you should be careful not to forget their emotional needs as well. When splitting custody of the client base, balance the emotional rapport you’ve built with each client along with their financial contributions to the company.

Remain in Constant Contact

Since divvying up a partnership is extremely time consuming, it is essential to be mindful of your existing clients throughout the process. One simple way to ensure you’re in constant contact with your clients is to schedule out dedicated time each morning and afternoon to answer any emails and phone calls that came through. Supporting your existing clients will minimize churn and reduce your stress in the long run, so it’s worth your attention even in the midst of larger issues.

Take Time to Realign

Any major business transition is an ideal time for rebranding, and this is no exception. Take a step back from the hustle and bustle and evaluate your primary expertise and your ideal client. Has this changed since you founded your original business? Should you begin to take things in a new direction? While this evaluation may not require you to drop everything and march in a new direction, it will help you guide your marketing plan and acquire the right type of clients moving forward.

Brand Your Business

If you’ve decided to realign your business objectives, this is the perfect time to create a branded system that clarifies your ideal client and what services you deliver. Take the time to create a new slogan, tag line , and marketing plan that will attract your ideal client and help you reach your new goals!

While a business break-up is a stressful turn of events, it gives you the perfect opportunity to reframe your expertise and craft a new marketing plan. These steps will help ensure a seamless transition for your employees, existing clients, as well as helping you craft a new and improved branded system.

As you focus on your business development, you will likely reach a point where you can no longer manage every aspect of your business. This is an exciting step in the growth of your company, and it allows you to devote your energy to your own strengths and passions while letting the rest of your staff handle those items that they are well qualified to handle. However, the act of delegating responsibilities can worry anxious clients, so here are 4 tips to communicate your dedication even as you allow your team to step up to the plate with client relationships.

Step 1: Create a Personalized Introduction

It’s natural for your clients to feel disappointed when they’re passed along to an unknown associate but crafting a personalized introduction can help ease their anxiety. Take copious notes on the likes, dislikes, and personalities of each client and include them in the account information when onboarding new team members in the lead role of account manager. Ideally, you want to invite your clients to the office for face-to-face introductions to facilitate all parties getting to know each other. Finding shared connections like sports teams, hometowns, or hobbies can create instant rapport at the initial meeting. Brainstorm these connections in advance to support rapport building while creating the space for a smooth transition.

Step 2: Focus on the Positives

When you inform your clients of the change in responsibilities, it’s important to frame the transition in a positive light. The best way to do this is to highlight that the reallocation of responsibility will better allow you to prioritize your own skills, while delegating the other details to your associates who are well qualified to handle all that they will be responsible for. Emphasize your team capabilities and reinforce the point that they will continue to be well taken care of while you will still be providing clarity of direction and monitoring the results for each account. You will remain in close communication with your team members to ensure everything is running smoothly.

Step 3: Emphasize Accountability

One of the simplest ways to set your clients at ease during a transition is to outline the leadership structure that they will experience. Make it clear which team member will manage each task and set up regular meetings to review the status of each account. Emphasizing that the supervision of each account will be a team effort will increase client confidence during a transition, particularly if they have multiple people that they can contact when concerns arise. Ensure that your team responds quickly to client needs during the transition and afterwards. Add a message at the bottom of the email that recommends the correct contact for that task in the future and cc that colleague directly on the email. This provides the level of support that clients expect while still allowing them to note the right person to reach out to in the future.

Step 4: Stay in Close Contact

As you transition accounts, reach out to them and confirm that they are happy with the new experience. In addition to monitoring client satisfaction, this also reminds them that you are involved in the process and still care about their wellbeing. If concerns arise, quickly address them with your team so they can adjust their strategies in support of the client.

It can be challenging to adjust your role with clients although the key to a smooth transition is strategic planning in advance with your team on client relationships and approaching the changes consciously in support of a positive transition for both your clients and colleagues. Follow these steps to ensure that your clients are cared for and content!

In a results-driven industry like financial advising, it is essential to walk the fine line between touting your victories and bragging. Coming across as too cocky or
self-assured can make clients uneasy, so this is a worthwhile skill to cultivate as you build your business. But how do you get started? Below are some tips to help you mention your successes while still remaining humble.

Facts Over Flourish

While exploring your achievements, stay focused on the facts. Instead of delivering sweeping generalizations about your skills like “I excel at client relations,” stick to demonstrable facts like “I have retained 98% of my client base year over year.” This retains the underlying compliment while still sounding genuine…and you’ll have the figures to back up your claims!

Focus On Your Efforts

One of the simplest ways to sound more relatable is to mention the hard work that goes into your success. Avoid making your accomplishments sound too easy by mentioning any extra effort or overtime that went into your success. However, you should only mention this briefly, as you don’t want to sound too overwhelmed!

Be Grateful

Though it may feel like all of your accomplishments are due to your own hard work, it’s essential to mention the people who helped you along the way. If you have an exceptional team member who has been instrumental to growing your business, thank them! It allows you to come across as humble even as you mention your career successes. As an added bonus, it boosts the morale in your office and makes it clear that you are a cohesive team working towards the same goal.

Don’t Qualify It

It may seem tactful to qualify your statement with some variation of the phrase “I hate to brag…” but studies show that trying to lessen your statement with false humility is actually the worst thing you can do. Being direct and sticking to the facts is a better way to get your point across, and everyone is allowed to brag about their achievements once in a while! As long as you remain humble and to-the-point, you’re better off touting your achievements without the qualifier.

Though it can be challenging to truly honor your wins without sounding braggadocious, these tips will help you deliver the facts and figures to your clients without going overboard. Mentioning your hard work and delivering credit to other team members will make you sound relatable and honest while touting your achievements!

Rather than starting with what type of marketing suits them and their personality best, people often start with the marketing they think they “should” be doing. Maybe
someone hears that networking groups are helpful, but is a serious introvert, and struggles to show their best side at events full of new people. Or a person who isn’t confident with social media and technology is constantly questioning everything they post. The good news is that marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all. In fact, you can (and should!) use your personality to help guide your marketing efforts.

When you focus on the type of marketing that suits your personality, you can show up confidently in conversations and represent your business in an authentic way. Plus, if you can focus on channels and strategies that you enjoy (or at least don’t mind), you’ll actually put the appropriate amount of energy into it for it to be fruitful and deliver results.

Think about your marketing channels for a moment. Is there anything that you avoid or makes you uncomfortable? On the other hand, is there anything you enjoy and feel you’re good at?

Does the idea of walking into a group of new people and introducing yourself and sharing about your business make you feel excited and energized? If so, networking is probably a marketing channel you want to use to your benefit.

On the other hand, if you’re not comfortable in that situation, you have two options. One option is that you could put the work into getting comfortable and learning to be more effective in those settings. Alternatively, you could focus on different channels, such as digital marketing, or effectively asking for introductions and referrals from ideal clients, professional referral sources, and your center of influence to support new prospects coming in the door.

Another great channel for people who are more introverted is writing: digital marketing channels like blogging or columns in a newsletter can be a wonderful way to showcase your expertise without having to show up in large social settings. For example, I have a client who writes a column in a CPA’s email newsletter once a month. It illustrates that the CPA is endorsing them and helps the advisor stay top of mind with a group of potential clients, while delivering value to the reader.

Michael Kitces is a great example of using the channels he’s comfortable with. I see his work and name everywhere and was surprised to learn he’s actually an introvert! He frequently does speaking engagements, but also focuses on blogging as another major marketing channel.

Don’t let someone else’s playbook dictate your marketing strategy. Determine and focus on the types of marketing channels that suit your personality, and your marketing plan is more likely to be effective and get you the results you want!

If you need help deciphering what type of marketing is a good fit for you, or would like to sharpen your skills in a certain area, I would love to speak with you! Reach out to me today: susan@susandanzig.com

As we begin to head toward fall and the final quarter of the year, it’s a great time to take stock of where you are in relation to your goals. Are you happy with your results? If not, what can you do now to finish the year on stronger footing?

If you’re thinking it’s “too late” in the year to take action for significant results — it isn’t! For example, do you have a professional referral source you’re already working with who has clients who would benefit from a workshop you could deliver to them? This would be a wonderful way to amplify your results before the end of the year because these potential clients might be willing to engage in your services sooner because they have an existing relationship with your professional referral source. Ideally, this workshop also wouldn’t take as much effort to fill the seats than doing one entirely on your own.

A professional referral source who has many past clients (like an estate planning attorney or a CPA) can be great because you can get in front of them and deliver a seminar in your area of expertise. Could it be time to review their financial plan, set up a retirement plan, or investment plan?

First, think about the results you want and are intending to produce by year end.What is your desired outcome? Next, think about how you will produce the results you desire. If you want to attract new ideal clients, how will that happen? If you want to build on your professional referral source relationships, what is the best plan to do that? Once you know the outcome you’d like to target, you can work backwards to put together your plan to re-engage and finish the year strong.

In the past, if I found myself in this situation, I would start by re-engaging with colleagues, a coach, or someone who might have wisdom and an outside perspective to help me move forward. From there, we would discuss what was going on for me and my plan of attack, review it in a few weeks, and finetune as needed. This would help me get re-engaged in my plan of action.

It’s also crucial to set up structure to help you get back into the zone and to support effective action being taken. Carve out time for planning, to do research, and to talk with people who will be able to share perspective and wisdom, and of course — make time to implement! For most people, if you don’t get the steps of your desired action plan on the calendar, it simply won’t happen.

Here are 3 ways to get back into action

Carve out time on your calendar to think about the results you want, and what you’re willing to do to get there.

Think about friends, colleagues, associates who are inspired in their business development process. If anyone in particular comes to mind, what are they doing to stay focused and on track to reach their goals? Bottom line: what are they doing to grow their business? Is there anything you could learn from or borrow from their success?

Run your plan by someone else, like a mentor or trusted colleague. If you don’t have someone like that in your circle and could benefit from working with someone who knows how to support you in moving from planning and strategizing to action, reach out to me (susan@susandanzig.com) and we can put together a plan for you!

Do you find yourself agreeing to business-related requests for the wrong reasons, and regretting it later? It’s a common reaction, and happens for many reasons, like not wanting to potentially lose a business opportunity (despite it not being a good fit for your business model), or disappointing the person making the request.

Many financial services professionals responsible for contributing to or responsible for their bottom line can feel pressure to accept most (if not all) of the potential business that comes their way. One important skill to learn is when and how to say no to things that aren’t priorities, in order to protect your time and energy for what is truly important and necessary.

For example, have you ever been asked to speak to a group who wasn’t your target market, but you’ve gone ahead with it because you figured any exposure was positive for your business? This is a great example of a good time to politely decline the invitation and seek speaking opportunities in front of your target audience.

Another example of a good time to say no to an opportunity or request that comes your way is always agreeing to meet with prospects at any time of the day or night.If they become a client, you having previously agreed to meet at any time they desired could set up a precedent for your working relationship that is difficult to alter later.

It is also important to not confuse donating your time with actual marketing.I’ve had many conversations with people who figure that donating their time to an event or cause is equivalent to marketing, as they’re getting in front of new people and making connections, however this is not often the case. In order for donating your time to be a good marketing opportunity, it needs to offer you a way to interact with or get in front of your ideal clients – such as fellow board members for the particular charity you’re working with, or fellow attendees at events supporting your favorite cause. Donating your time is a wonderful thing to do – just be clear about your intentions for how you are spending your time.

A final area you may want to consider saying no to protect your boundaries and time is with a prospect trying to get you to jump through hoops, and asking you to provide a service outside your business model. While in certain cases this may make sense, it typically takes an advisor far off course from their established (more efficient) business model.

Bottom line: it will help your business in the long run if you can say no to requests that will take you off course and detract from your efforts to work with ideal clients. That time will be better spent supporting your momentum in focused ways. If you’re unsure about saying yes or no to a certain situation, a question you can ask yourself is: what’s the likelihood that this activity will pay off and create the results you’re looking for?